Choosing Healthy Foods

It's the week of finals and suddenly there's so much to do and not enough time to do it. With projects, papers, studying, all-nighters, and early wake-ups, indulging in your favorite (and maybe not so good for you) foods seems like the perfect way to relieve some of that finals stress. When we turn to food to relive stress, it tends to be food that comforts us and makes us feel good, which a lot of times is a carton of ice cream, a slice of pizza, or your favorite piece (or bag) of candy. The truth is, finals may not only be a stressful time of the semester but a time where weight gain occurs in stressed out students. The combination of a large amount of sedentary time studying and test taking, little to no exercise, and stressful or late-night eating is a recipe for weight gain. Another truth is that we may not even recognize that we are in fact stress eating due to being completely preoccupied. So how do we avoid this stress eating before it takes place? Here are four tips to...

The semester is coming to a close which can mean only one thing: finals. While your time may be consumed by reading, studying, reviewing and memorizing it is important to maintain a healthy, well-balanced diet. Believe it or not, there are some foods that have been proven to be essential for proper brain function, improve learning and motor skills, contribute to healthy blood flow, enhance memory and focus, and overall maintain a healthy brain. Though food has typically been seen as a mean to provide us with the energy and material we need to maintain our body and its functions, over the last decade research has shown evidence that dietary intake has an influence on the mechanisms that maintain mental function (Gomez-Pinilla, 2008) . Here are some major brain foods to fuel your mind this finals season. Antioxidants Blueberries, pomegranate and pomegranate juice, tea, dark chocolate, citrus fruits and cranberries to name a few antioxidant power houses. Antioxidants aid in protecting the...